DECLARATION:I do not own Skyrim or oany of it's charracters, i own only the personalityof the Hero.
Some info again : Currency – The currency will not be only in gold. Come on – you would think the empire iss wimming in gold if all the currency they have is GOLD. – My story will have copper and silver also, but don't worry it won't be 100 copper = 1 silver :D. They will be individual. Copper is copper, silver is silver, gold is gold – a litle explanation– a normal meal in a tavern will be around a hundred copper, or two or three silver – one room could be from 5-10 silver to one-two gold for night –Got my meaning ? No ? Well nevermind , ignore the currency then :D.
And one other thing- you will understand it when you read the chapter – Akavari Swords in looks are just like Japanese Katanas.
Chapter three: Golden Dragon Claw and restless Undead.
Elliora entered the Great Hall and headed towards the desk on which the advisor was working on. Avenicci took a look at her just as she was unbounding the wrapped sword from her back. She put the cloth away and layed the sword in-front of him. „Nice work on the sheath!"-she thought when she saw, the silver inscribed with golden words, scabbard. Avenicci was a little surprised when he saw the sword but he pulled himself pretty fast:
-„Ah, so you have met my daughter I see, and you have brought the gift for the Jarl. I am very pleased!"-he said and pulled out a coin purse, pulling a few gold coins-„Here! For the delivery."-he stretched his hand expectantly. Elliora took the coins and bowed:
-„Very generous of you, giving gold coins for a simple delivery."-she told him.
-„Ah! Forgive me! But I was passing outside the mage's quarters and overheard a part of your conversation. And I wanted to contribute a little in this mission for finding the story behind this dragon appearance."-he said sincerely.
-„Your help is well appreciated. I can guarantee for that!"-Elliora told him with a faint smile.-„Well, my work here is done for the time being. I will be taking my leave, and try to find an inn with a free room and take a rest before i start my journey for Riverwood tomorrow morning."-she bowed again and turned towards the exit.
It was dark outside already. She made her way down the stairs and towards where she had met Adrianne. There were way fewer people on the streets this time. Most of them, she noticed, were young couples or lovers, and judging from what she saw most were from the upper classes of society. Elliora made her way towards the „Warmaiden"-that was the name of Adrianne's smithy. When she reached the building, she noticed that the female blacksmith was seated in a bench in-front of her workplace, and went towards her. Adrianne heard her foot steppes and raised her head. After seeing who it was she opened her mouth:
-„I see you have finished your work in the palace. And i hope you delivered the sword?"-she said hopefully.
-„Yes, I did what i had to do. The Jarl was grateful enough i suppose, gave me an enchanted backpack. And yes, I delivered the sword to your father. He was quite generous in-fact!"-Elliora answered with a glint of a smile. –„Actually i came to buy some throwing knives. Do you have any in stock? I need a few."
-„You are in luck, i just finished an order not a couple of days ago, but the merchant was killed by bandits and i didn't get paid, and the weapons are in the storage."-she got up and waved Elliora to follow her inside.
The „Warmaiden" wasn't what she had expected inside, the front door led them inside a large room filled with all-kinds of weapons placed in especially designed racks. In the far end, in the middle, of the room there was something that looked like a reception desk. A broad shouldered man was standing behind it.
-„This is my husband Ulfberd. Ulfberd meet Elliora!"-she introduced them to one another. –„Ulf, could you please bring the chest with the silver throwing knives from the storage?"-her husband nodded and left them alone. After a while, Ulfberd opened the door with a kick and entered the room carrying a large chest filled knives and daggers.
-„All-right, Elliora you are free to examine the goods, we will talk price later if you want to purchase any of them."-Adrianne told her in a businesslike tone. Elliora nodded and begun browsing trough the chest.
Elliora noticed that the throwing knives weren't crafted in standard shapes. The edges were triangled, slightly curved –„Perfect for breaking wind resistance"-she thought, the handles were tight, where the edge began, getting more larger at the end with a small hole in them, big enough to put one finger in them, two in her case. „These can be throwed with much more force than the usual knives. I am definitely buying them, even if they cost me the extra gold her father gave me. Anyway i suppose i will need them where i am going. Only the gods know what beasts have made their way inside these old ruins iam supposed to go in." She took eight knives, the number she had before the imperials confiscated her belongings, and put them on the reception desk. Adrianne raised an eyebrow:
-„Hmm you seem to have an eye for fine craftsmanship, these are a new prototypes i was experimenting with, but believe me, i know they are accurate, i have the habit of testing my crafts. If that is everything you will be purchasing, that will be two gold and thirty three silver."-she said.
Elliora detached her pouch from her belt, counted the said price and gave it to the blacksmith. Then she started attaching her new on her legs. When she was ready, she said her farewells with the shopkeepers and exited the smithy. She saw a city-guard passing near her and decided to ask him for a good inn to spend the night in. She tapped him on the shoulder:
-„Excuse me, could you point me towards a acceptable inn? It is my first time in the city and i do not know my way around."-she asked for guidance. The guard thought for a moment and then answered:
-„"The Bannered Mare" -just outside east of the noble's residences- is a nice place. The food is always fresh, the folks are nice and friendly and they have comfortable beds and rooms, and the prices are acceptable."-he told her and went on with his patrolling. Elliora headed towards the pointed destination. The further she went from the inner circle towards the outher circle of buildings the less populated it was. After a good thirty minutes of walking she finaly made it to, what it looked like, some-kind of a small plaza surrounded by grocery-stores, the „Bannered Mare" inn and what it looked like a few alchemy stores. The Inn was the only lit place. It seemed like the owners of the stores were asleep already. She headed towards it hoping that there was a free room left for her to rent. When she entered she was surprised to see that only half the inn was full. There were few guards, around twenty town-folks, and a group of – what she thought looking at their equipment – mercenaries. The guards were only in yellow tunics with the city's crest so she suspected their shift had ended, the mercenaries on the other hand were dressed in all-kinds of different armors, but their weapons were stashed near the guard's table. She made her way towards the innkeeper which was a woman:
-„Good evening inkeeper, i would like to order some food – meat preferable – and i want to ask you if you have any spare rooms for the night?"-she said politely. The woman looked her from head to toe, noticing the sword on her hip and the many knives on her legs, startled a little when he saw her eyes, but then answered:
-„Are you a mercenary like those fel'as over there? I warn you not to make any incidents while you are here, the city guard is present as well!"-she pointed at the guards who were now looking at her curiously. Elliora raised her hands in middair in-front of her defensively:
-„Lol, easy woman, no need for threats, i am just looking for food and rest before i go on a mission for the Jarl."-she replied. The guards almost jumped from their seats in surprise, and the innkeeper looked a little shaken.
-„S..sorry milady, i didn't mean to insult a soldier of the Jarl. It's just that the times are bad, and i had a few very nasty incidents in my establishment already. The guards over there are personal friends of mine and i have asked them to wear their insignias when they visit my place, it helps keeping the peace. I'll tell the cook to prepare something right away, and i have a nice room on the second floor."-the the woman finaly stoped babbling. Elliora waved a hand:
-„No offence taken, and i am not exactly a soldier of the Jarl, just a capable hand doing an important task for him. Do not worry, I do not intend to cause any trouble here. Give me a big portion of the main course and a tankard of mead!"-she said heading towards one empty table near the windows.
Two minutes after she had seated herself a waitress brought her the mead along with a big plate with meat with various spices and chopped vegetables. She dug-in instantly. When she finished, she called the waitress and paid her three silver coins, then she went to the innkeeper.
-„Give me a room for one night, and i would also rent a bathtub"-she said.
-„That will be ten silver."-the other woman told her. Elliora paid and oe of the serving girls showed her the way towards her room. She took a warm bath and went to bed. „Tomorrow i'll have to rent a horse, i dont want to travel by foor all the way back to Riverwood. There goes another ten or twenty silver. I hope i have enough to buy provisions when i reach the village." She fell asleep with those thoughts.
The next morning she looked around the near stores for provisions, then she made her way towards a stables she had seen near the city gates. She rented a strong, young black steed and headed to Riverwood. The weather was cold, and the sky was cloudy. She followed the clouds with her eyes and saw that the wind was blowing them the same direction she was traveling to. „I bet my ass that this Burrow, or whatever it's name was, will probably be somewhere in the mountais, and with this weather there is a big possibility that there will also be a blizzard in the high regions."-she thought grimly. The mountain roads were usually dangerous, but if there was also a blizzard – they could be very deadly. „I'll have to ask the villagers if they know some safe paths in the mountain."
The first day of the journey passed normally. But around midday on the second day the weather became cold and small snow-storms began to fall. The hard weather delayed her around half a day making her reach her destination in the late evening. It was around nine o'clock and she decided to go straight for the inn. She strapped her horse in the small stable outside of it and made her way towards the door.
She felt warm air surrounding the instant she opened the door. The noises of heated chatter and relaxing music filled her ears. The inn was quite empty. There were only around twenty patrons. An Imperial woman and a male that had some similar traits, a woman round her 50's cleaning with a broom, a few townsfolk and some hunters – if she had guessed right about their cloths and the bows storaged near their table. She seated herself in an empty table near the two Imperials. She waved to the innkeeper and ordered some food and mead, then relaxed in her chair. The chatter between the Imperials next to her was heating up she noticed and she focused her hearing towards them.
-„Well one of us has to to something!"-the woman sounded angry. The man replied:
-„I said NO!NO adventures, NO theatrics, NO-thief chasing!"-the man was angrier.
-„Then what are you going to do about it huh? Lets hear it!"-the woman wasn't backing down.
-„We are done talking about this. It is gone ant that's it!"-he finished their conversation. The woman stood up and turned towards the door but Elliora stopped her:
-„Forgive me but i overheard your conversation!"-she started but was interrupted.
-„You and the whole inn, it is not like we were whisperig, i dont know how noone ran in here expecting to find someone slaughtered."-the Imperial woman said with an apologetic tone. The male just snorted.
-„What are those thieves you mentioned? And what did they steal from you that you want it back so desperately?"-Elliora asked them. They two Imperials exchanged looks and the woman took her seat back.
-„Ok, here is the deal. My name is Camilla Valrius and that is my brother Lucan. We own the local grocery-store. We had a break-in a couple of days ago."-she started but her brother interrupted her:
-„The strange thing is they didn't steal anything except an old ornament – a dragon claw made from solid gold. The thing is – i had many things that were worth much more than the claw was a gift from an old friend of mine. It meant very much to me!"-he told her with a saddened face.
-„Where did these robbers head to?"-Elliora asked him. He startled and his eyes widened, but he recovered quickly:
-„I head one of them mentioning Bleak Falls Barrow."-he told her. Now it was her eyes that widened in surprise but then she smiled wickedly:
-„What a coincidence! I have business in the old ruins myself. If i come across these thieves, I will make sure they return the claw. Willingly or not. The only problem is that i do not know the way to there. I was hoping someone in the village would be able to guide me towards the ruins."-she finished. Lucan jumped on his feet:
-„I will gladly point you towards them, you can even see them from here if there are no clouds on the mountain. I will show you ... no i will give you a map and i will draw the way for you."-his mood was completely changed. –„I'll be back in a few minutes."-he said and rushed out of the inn, gathering strange looks from everyone inside. He was back after two or three minutes holding a big piece of parchment. –„Here. I have marked the safest road to the Barrow. May i ask what business you have there?"-he asked curiously. Elliora pulled from the map and answered:
-„I have to get an item for Jarl Balgruuf from there. That is all i can tell you."-she said and turned her eyes back at the map. –„Say, did you manage to see how many the robbers were?"-she asked him. He thought for about a minute and looked at her:
-„I do not know for sure, i saw around eight inside, but Camilla told me she saw around fifteen more outside on the street. Look! I'm not foolhardy, i know i can't ask you to fight thirty men alone for a thing that is not very expensive either. I will pay you for the return of my property, but i will not blame you if you don't get it."-he told her. Elliora grinned:
-„Do not worry, a bunch of thieves will hardly be a problem for me. If i come across your claw, consider it returned."-then she took the map and placed it inside her backpack. –„Well, if you would excuse me, I need a bath and a warm bed. See you after my mission is done. Good night!"-and she strode off to rent a room.
When the morning came, the sky was a little clearer than the day before, but a small snow was still raining. Elliora mounted her steed and headed towards the road leading in to the mountains.
When she reached the mountain road she started humming to herself:
„Faar Oover... the misty mountains Cold...
To Dungeons Deep... and Caverns Old...
The Pines were Roaring ...ooooooon The Heights,
The Winds were Moaning ...iiiiin the Night...
The Fire was Red... it Flaaaming Spread...
The Trees Like Torches... Blazed.. with Light!"
After half a day's journey she noticed large columns on the edge of a high cliff. „There! Not far now."-she thought. „Hmm what did i read about old nord burial goround?"-she pushed her mind trying to remember an ancient manuscript she had obtained from a dead mage a few years ago. „If i am right, the ancient nords had dragon worshipers among them, they created most of the burial grounds with magic. So i must expect magical traps of somekind."-she continued her way pondering. When she was about a hundred feet from the ruin, she unmounted and strapped her horse on a tree near the road. She heade towards the Barrow. After a couple of minutes she noticed foot-steppes in the snow. She lowered herself and continued forward. When she reached and old stairway, she saw them. Two men and a woman standing guard in-front of a massive iron door. The woman was wearing some kind of a leather armor and had a bow placed on her back. The two nords on her sides had large two-handed swords also strapped on their backs. Elliora decided to kill them silently and pulled three of her new throwing knives. She aimed and threw them with all the strength she could muster. The three bandits fell to the ground instantly with gurgling sounds. Elliora proceeded cautiously. She pulled her knives from the throats of the dead bodies. She took a look at the inscriptions on the door. They were pretty old and messed up, but she made out a part of a massive wing, and a human figure bowing down. „Hmm, yes, it must be a toomb of the dragon worshipers. Damn my luck, why cant the damn artifact be in an normal civilized cemetary!". She pushed the door and opened it. What greeted her inside were some fallen columns, lots of dust and – she noticed – a fireplace at the far end of the of the huge hall, near somekind of a corridor. There were five more bandids at the fireplace. She closed behind them silently hiding behind the columns. She heard them talking to eachother:
-„It's been ten hours since the others went down there with that damned fool. Do you think they have found the tresure and made a run for it trough some hidden passage?"-said the one closest to the corridor.
„Treasure? Whatever treasures they had here must have been robbed centuries ago. Most of the ancient nord burial grounds are mapped and well known. What treasure can they be speaking about?"-Elliora was interested now. She drew her sword quietly and pulled her dagger in her left hand-„I should have bought another sword."-she thought. She was good with a sword but her favorite fighting style was the „Two heavens as one" where she used two swords. She jumped behind two of them severing the head of one and stabbing the other in the neck. It took around seven seconds for the rest of them to comperhend what had jsut happened. They pulled their weapons and ran towards her. Elliora parried a wild swing from a huge battlehammer, then ducked hear head nearly avoiding an two-handed sword. The third man was still looking for his weapon. It seemed he was drunk and his coordination wasnt verry good. She rolled her sword in her hand and parried another swing from the sworded man, then moved a step back dodging the hammer and kicked it to one side. After that she lunged towards the man with the hammer repeling the huge thing on her right, rolled her body to the left and stabbed him with her knife under the armpit and straight to his heart. After she made sure he was dead by twisting the dagger a few times she returned her attention to the other two. The drung had picked his weapon – a long sword – and was trying to flank her on the left. The man with the big sword attaked her with couple of straight hits, probably relying that his strength will make her drop her weapon or atlest she would loose her balance. It didnt work. Elliora met his attacks gracefully parrying all of them. „The most efficient tactic against brute forced attacks is to counter them with small amount of force only enough to change their trajectory to the desired course."-she thought dodging an attack from the drunk. „I belive it's time to end this fight." She closed her distance with the sober worrior and attacked with a flurry of fast attacks, injuring him in the left leg and hand. He started to pant heavily. Elliora parried another straight hit-this time a lot weaker than before- then jumped over his head with her back turned at him, rolled her sword in her hand pointing the ednge towards his back and stabbed him with full force. The bandid staggered and fell to the ground. She turned her head towards the last survivor:
-„Tell me what are you looking for in here? What is this treasure you talked about? Tell me and i will let you live!"-she told him with ice cold voice and made a step towards the fire. The not so drunk anymore, man who had just watched this woman in-front of him kill four of his comrades was shaking in fear already, but when he saw her eyes(which were also reflecting the light of the fire in the dark hall) he lost it. He ran full-speed towards the exit throwing his weapon on the ground, but then he dropped dead on the ground with a knife in his heart. Elliora pulled her throwing knife and headed towards the corridor. „Strange, this is supposed to be a tomb, but I do not sense the fragrance of dead or at-least mummified corpses. Even if they were buried a long time ago atleast the air has to be stuffy." Something was not right in here and she could feel it.
She proceeded carefully trough the corridor, going deeper in to the crypt. Torches were lit everywhere and she noticed that the whole place was crawling with weed plants. After walking for about ten minutes she saw some kind of a doorway from which a large light was coming from. She quietly approached. The was standing at the door of large room filled with three small columns with animal shapes on them, an iron gate and some kind of a pedestal in the middle of the room. A large bandit was standing next to the pedestal with his back towards her. Elliora pulled her dagger and headed towards him silently. When she reached him she grabbed his head, putting her palm on his mouth and sliced his throat. The man fell to the ground without even making a sound. She then turned her attention at the iron gate. It didn't have a lock on it, neither was there a lever in the room also. She took a look the the pedestal in the middle of the room. Something was written on it but she couldn't understand it. She put her hand on it and it moved a little inwards. She removed her hand immediately afraid that she had activated some kind of a trap and instantly after that she ducked, avoiding a few small arrows that had been shot from the walls. „Damn! Booby traps!" she thought to herself. She took another look at the gate and noticed two animal figures carved in the stone above it. She also noticed that there was supposed to be a third carving but it seemed that it had been broken off. She turned and went to the nearest column. After a brief examination she discovered that they could be rotated in different directions. „Maybe if i rotate all of them in the right positions the door will open."-she thought to herself again. Elliora got to work. She took another look at the animals displayed above the gate. They were from right to left – a sea cow, the middle was missing and at the end was a snake. The columns had three animals each, sea cow, sake and a hawk. She decided to try with the combination of – sea cow, hawk and a snake. When she finished rotating them she pushed the pedestal again. And to her surprise she had to dodge another volley of arrows. „Damn them to oblivion! I guess it wont be so easy after all!"-she thought angrily. She took a fast sweep with her eyes around the room and noticed a small cairn. She closed it and saw a large stone tablet with a snake on it. „Bingo!" She rushed back to the middle column and rotated it with the snake facing her. She pushed the pedestal again and the iron-bar gate lowered herself in to the ground. Elliora continued further in to the crypt. After a while she entered a small room and saw that it was filled with dead human bodies. „What in Oblivion happened here?"-she thought after seeing the fresh dead bodies. She drew her sword and continued further. She noticed that the walls were filled with holes and in the holes were layng ancient corpses. Some were completely stripped, some had armors and weapons that were corrosed and rusted. All of a sudden she heard a searching sound and went rolling on the ground avoiding a large sword. She turned back and yelled a small cry of surprise. In-front of her was standing one of the supposed dead ancient corpses. It had a rusted armor and a large two-handed sword in its hands. It swung again at her and she made a small jump backwards. –„What in oblivion is going on in here? Did some kind of necromancy cult made a hideout in here?"-she shouted furstrated. „By the Divines. I have fighting against the undead"-she thought to herself. Fighting undead wasnt the same as fighting living creatures. Many of the critical deadly points on their body had no effect like on the living, they felt no pain and they had infinite stamina. She had only one choise. Making fast dive towards the undead she blocked his swrod pushing it to his right and then made a strong right-sided swing with her sword severing its head. The body suddenly fell to the ground while she was preparing to block its next attack.
-„What the? It died?"-she looked puzzled. Usually to kill a resurrected undead she had to slice his head(which she had already done) then pull out his heart almost like vampires-the only difference was that with vampires one of the two said things was certain to be enough. –„So maybe after-all its not necromancy magic that has awaken these undead-things."-she had a bad feeling about these new undead. She took a torch and continued her way deeper in to the Burrow. She encountered a few more of the undead. She managed to kill them without suffering any injuries. After a few hours of going trough mazes and fighting undead creatures she entered a large room. The room was covered in spider web. „I have a bad feeling about this!"-she said to herself. At the end of the room she saw a man caught in a web covering another corridor. The man saw her:
-„Please! Help me! Get me out of here!"-he begged. She went towards him and then all of a sudden a giant spider fell from the rooftop and charged at her trying to bite her head off. She rolled on her back and jumped fast on her feet. Dodged one of its huge legs that tried to smash her in to the wall. She swung her sword fiercely and cut it off. The spider pulled back jerking from pain. Elliora decided that was her chance and jumped towards its belly and ran fiercely her sword trough it. The spider squirmed and fell dead to the ground. She made her way for the cocooned man.
-„Hurry, cut me loose and i will share with you the treasure behind the secret door at the end of this tunnel!"-he said. Elliora raised an eyebrow:
-„What secret door? What treasure are you talking about? Are you one of the bandits that robbed the merchant in Riverwood?"-she asked with a cold voice.
-„Yes, yes i am part of the band. But they are all dead now. Only i know how to open the door. Cut me loose and we will split the treasure."-he told her.
Elliora didn't believe for a moment what he was saying. She pulled her dagger in her right hand and started to cut the web. With her left hand she pulled secretly one throwing knife and hid it behind her. When she freed the man he pushed her with all of his might and made a run for it in to the corridor laughing:
-„Hahaha, fool of a woman... why should i split anything with any..."-his words were cut short and he fell on the ground with the throwing knife stuck in his skull. Elliora pulled her knife back, searched the dead man and found the golden claw. There was also a small journal. She took it and opened it. It's contend wasn't very interesting but at the end it had few interesting words „When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hand." –„Hmm strange riddle.". She made her way trough the corridor. All the torches were lit and she saw strange and very old paintings carved in to the stone walls. At the end of the corridor was large door that which looked like it was a mechanism activated. It had three stone rings with carved animals on them and in the middle it had a dent with the form of a dragon claw along with three claws. Just like the claw she had in her. She took a look at the carved animals and noticed they were different from before. The rings had a butterfly, owl and a bear. She took a look at her surroundings and noticed that there were no animal carvings in the whole corridor. She thought for a moment. Then it hit her. „When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of yout hand" – she pulled out the claw and started examining it. She didnt see anything out of the ordinary and cursed.
–„Damn, shoudn't have killed the damn idiot."- she threw the claw. It fell with the palm facing the ceiling. She flinched. The claw had three small figures carved on it. Elliora slapped her forehead:
-„Of course, i am such a ... „...the solution is in your palm"."-she pulled the claw up and looked closely. The animals on the claw were positioned – Bear, butterfly, owl – from the nails towards the heel. She started rolling the stone rings, adjusting the animals like they were positioned on the claw. Then she inserted the claw and pushed. The rings started rolling by them selves. Then all of a sudden they stopped with the Owl facing her. The door opened with a loud screeching noise and she faced a large stairway. Elliora climbed it and found herself in a huge cave. It seemed the cave had an opening on the ceiling because moonlight was shining in the cave. At the far end there was a large sarcophagus with two blazers on it's sides and something that looked like a huge stone shrine near the cave wall, behind them was another corridor and by the chill she felt, there was an exit there. Elliora proceeded cautiously. She saw a large chest near the sarcophagus and headed towards it. She opened it and her eyes went wide open. There were two black Akavari swords inside, along with some gold coins and what she thought was the dragon stone and a few diamonds and rubys. The sheaths of the akavari swords were black with silver engravings on some strange language. She pulled one out and un-sheethed it. The handle was made from black steel with infused diamonds in it. The blade was with a silver color and had some-kind of enchantment runes on it. She touched it. It was sharp, cold and it had a strange feeling to it. She noticed that even as the color of the blade was silver the the material wasn't silver, it wasn't also steel. „I wonder what kind of a metal can withstand thousands of years without corroding or rusting! It could be the enchanting, i can ask the wizzard when i return in Whiterun."-she thought. Then she heard a very loud thud and turned back. The lid of the sarcophagus was thrown on the ground and a large body covered in platemail was standing from it. Elliora cursed and prepared herself for the encounter. The undead pulled out a huge two-handed sword and looked at her. Elliroa froze dead in her place. „Those eyes. They have intelligence. What in oblivion's name is this tomb!" – she took her favorite stance. Right foot forward puting all of her weight on it, left foor behind her, her blade's edge up at the same height as her left shoulder and elwbows close. Then something amazing and horrifying happened. The undead opened its mouth:
-„RO...DAAH!"-it shouted and Elliora found herself flying backwards smashing in the cave wall. Her eyesight blackened. She tasted blood in her mouth. She felt that her left shoulder was dislocated. „Oblivion! What the hell?"-she tried to take a breath. She opened her eyes just in time to see the huge sword flying towards her head. She rolled on her right and pulled herself up. She was panting. The shock from the shockwave was subsiding and her vision was returning to normal. The undead was much faster than the ones she had killed before. And much stronger she noticed after blocking another hit that send her staggering a few steps back. „Damn, I have to lure it closer!"-she told to herself. She feigned a forward slash and when her opponent tried to block it she rolled to her right and went behind him slicing off his left hand. The undead howled loud. „They even feel pain? This must be some sort of ancient dragon magic. There is no other explanation. I have to remember to thank the wizard for the lack of information he gave me before sending me here!"-she thought with anger. She tried to parry another attack, but her strength failed her and the undead pushed her blade into her. Cutting deep into her chest. „Argh! Blast this! If that strange magic hadn't surprised me this thing would be dead already!"-her anger was growing. She bit her sword with her teeth and started pulling and throwing her knives at him. One dug itself in the undead's elbow and he dropped his sword. Elliora took her sword and jumped with her remaining strength towards him. He pulled his head in her direction and opened his mouth. „OH NO! NOT HIS TIME FUCKER!"-she snarld inwardly and swung her sword with all the strength she could muster towards his neck severing the head from the body. The undead dropped dead and she released a heavy sigh. Her chest was still bleeding severely and she felt her body was going cold. With trembling hand she unstrapped a healing potion from her belt and drank it slowly. „Good thing i took a few of theese. Now i have to relocate my shoulder and sew the wound.". She felt the warmth of her body returning and she started to fell a little better. She went near the cave wall, turned her left side towards it and smashed her shoulder in the rocks. A loud scream filled the large space. Elliora pulled from her backpack a needle, some thread and started sewing herself up. By the time she finished she was feeling a lot better. Her chest and shoulder were still hurting like hell, but at-least her blood had returned to normal capacity and she wasn't feeling like throwing up. She went back to the chest. Loaded the gems, gold and stone in her backpack. She loaded the imperial sword she had taken in Helgen as well. After that she started strapping her new swords on her left side. She heard a quiet humming and turned her head towards it. There was nothing in the direction she had turned except the stone shrine. „Must have been my imagination."-she thought strapping the second sword below the first. She heard it again. Elliora turned her head sharply. Still nothing . „It's as if the sound is coming from the shrine. Could it?... Naah. Maybe i am still shaken from the shockwave." She went towards the shrine and the humming grew louder. „What in Talo's name could this be?". She reached the shrine the humming was verry loud now. It seemed like the shire ised to have somekind of an ancient text written on it. But after centuries most of it was deleted. There was only a small part of the text left. She looked at the words. She didnt understand a bit, but she had a strange feeling that she shoud be able to. It was like the time she heard the dragon in Helgen. The feeling of deja'vu but not exactly. She tried to remember all of the inscriptions and all of a sudden the humming stopped. „Well, the humming was strange enough, but this sudden silence is even stranger."-Elliora turned her back on the shrine, took her backpack and headed towards the exit. „Darn, I have to buy some new clothes, those are almost shredded to pieces." she decided and entered the cold tunnel.
